[B-Greek] ? - please respond

Paul Schmehl pschmehl at sbcglobal.net
Fri Dec 5 21:42:48 EST 2003


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
To: "Biblical Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Cc: "Matthew Creeden" <charlottematt2 at hotmail.com>
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2003 6:24 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] ? - please respond
>

> Forwarded for: "Matthew Creeden" <charlottematt2 at hotmail.com>
> Subject: ? - please respond
> Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 19:08:42 -0500
>
> For the last three months I have been studying NT Greek at the seminary.
I
> have a final on Monday which I do not think I will do well on.  I have
> found this endeavor, which I was very excited about at the beginning, to
> truly be painful and almost wasteful in terms of time.
>
> All I did for nearly four months was memorize vocabulary words (few if any
> I remember) and paradigms.  I have been praying for God to show me
(because
> the prof certainly has not) how on earth I am supposed to incorporate this
> tool into my pastoral life.  What books are essential to have?  How should
> the language be used in sermon preparation?  What is the best way to go
> about learning the language from a practical standpoint without becoming a
> Greek scholar (clearly not my intention)?
>
For what it's worth, here is the response of a non-scholar and rank amateur.

Dear Matthew,

The study of the Greek language in order to better understand the Bible, is
a lifelong endeavor.  The knowledge that you gain will not only enrich you
personally, but will make your ministry much deeper and fuller than it could
otherwise be.  Right now you're simply trying to pass a required course.
But a much greater goal is before you - to understand God and his Son by
understanding his Word in its "original" form.  This goal will take a
lifetime of hard work and great pleasure, but the rewards are well worth the
effort.

Paul Schmehl
pschmehl at sbcglobal.net
http://www.utdallas.edu/~pauls/




More information about the B-Greek mailing list